Spell of Shattered Sight (Part 1 of 2)
by Misty Masquerade
Summary: Okay this is a little random... this is the clean first half, and the next half... ;)


"Where are we going?" Regina said, rushing to keep up with Cora's pace down the corridor.  
Cora stayed silent as they walked, Regina to having no say in the matter with her mother's hand curled tightly around her wrist as if she were a child at the fair.  
Regina's question was hollow; she knew very well that they were heading to Cora's room. It was the route that led to discipline, however Regina couldn't remember "misbehaving" as of late, which could mean many things from breaking curfew to sneaking a ride on her horse. She had, however, visited a... close friend, and a dark magician that went by the name 'Rumpelstiltskin', in hopes that he would find a way to counter Cora's magic. Instead he had offered to teach her himself, and Regina was still wavering in hesitation. She was afraid of the power it had.  
_Oh and remember, dearie, all you need to do... is say my name three times. _  
Cora cleared her throat, as if reading Regina's mind, then spoke in tones that were surprisingly soft; not very befitting to the firm order that her mother, by nature, demanded constantly.  
"I know where you've been, Regina," she said.  
Before she could summon an excuse, Cora continued: "I have something to show you; a surprise, if you may. Don't be alarmed, dear, I think you will like it very much."  
"Oh?" Regina said, feeling her breath leak out with relief. "So I'm not in trouble?"  
Cora chuckled, but a was a warm and very _knowing_ chuckle, knowing that Regina was hesitant and... obedient.  
"Quite the contrary," Cora said. "Do you trust me?"  
"I do," Regina said slowly, as they stopped outside the wide mahogany doors that enclosed the master bedroom. Cora let go of Regina's wrist then, gathering her hands in front of her. She smiled, turning her jaw gently over her shoulder in Regina's direction as she magicked the doors open with a light flick of her wrist. As usual the room stood neat, the bed freshly-made and slathered with blood-red silk. Even the matching curtain was still by the window open to the cloudless day. She waved Regina in.  
"Come on darling," Cora said, stepping in after her daughter. "Do you see it yet?"  
The armchair in which Cora took Regina for "civil talks" had been moved to the other side of the room; and above it, a glorious white-framed mirror -one Regina had never laid eyes on in her life- stretched itself out over the velvet wall.  
The glass was as crisp as sight itself. In it Regina could see Cora at her side, the anticipation tugging her mouth into a grin. Regina smiled back, somewhat timid of this 'surprise'. She hoped it wasn't painted in her lips.  
"A looking glass," Regina said. "It's... beautiful."  
"More than you know," Cora said, raising a hand and closing the doors behind them. "Look harder, tell me what you see. And don't lie, because I will know."  
Slowly, Regina approached the mirror. She watched herself grow nearer and nearer until she was close enough to trace the intricate carvings of the frame. She reached out to touch it, then drew her hand away with a gasp. It was ice-cold.  
Behind her, Cora shuffled with curiosity. Regina returned her attention quickly to the glass; to...her face that sneered back at her. She felt her lips part with a quiet gasp, but the face in the glass remained smug.  
The 'other' Regina's eyes moved over her body in silent mockery. "And you wish to be Queen," she said, and Regina shook lightly at hearing her own voice being spoken -snapped- back to her like a slap in the face. "What would Mother think?"  
"I _will_ be Queen," she responded weakly, hardly even convincing herself. What was this magic?  
The 'other' Regina chuckled with joy. It gathered a chill in her spine. "Mother doesn't seem to believe so. She knows about you and that stable peasant. Queens don't kiss peasants, you silly girl."  
"Regina?" Cora called out behind her.  
Her mother's voice was far away, her reflection wavering like ripples in the glass. When Regina looked back at herself, she was... herself once more. Her features were contorted with shock, disbelief, everything she felt but shattered. Not that perfect glass...  
"Mother, what is this?" Regina croaked with a tight throat. She quickly gathered her shaking hands in front of her, though she was sure that the fear seeped from her pores like sweat.  
Cora tilted her chin. "It is exactly what you see. Tell me what you saw, Regina."  
"I...saw..."  
"Yes?"  
Regina swallowed. "I saw me, but it wasn't _me_, Mother. What kind of magic is this?"  
Cora took a step closer. Her grin had faded, lips firm. "Yes Regina, it _was_ you, but the bare truth that resides in your heart. There's wisdom there, wouldn't you agree? I never did enjoy being undermined, let alone by my own daughter. Do you think me transparent, my love?"  
In a flicker she was right behind Regina, up against her and pulling her hands apart to pin them at her sides. Her breath was hard against Regina's ear, and Regina froze in her mother's iron grasp. She stayed perfectly still in it.  
Finally she was able to speak, but in comparison her voice was feeble and frayed at the edges.  
"Mother, please don't hurt me. I'll be good!"  
"Yes you will," Cora said. "Now, one last time. Look in the mirror, and tell me what you see."  
Regina's vision had clouded slightly with the struggle, but she knew she wasn't imagining the figure materializing itself behind them. It stretched and bubbled until it formed a woman in a white-lace dress with a high collar, and nestled comfortably in her wheat-blonde hair was a silver crown. The woman's smile seemed to darken the air, and at once there was an unmistakable chill in the room. Regina gasped, her breath now visible in small clouds, and turned away from the mirror to greet the woman's eye. Cora too turned; but slowly and regal, unmoved by this stranger.  
"Well done, my love," Cora gushed, reaching for Regina's hand and squeezing it. Her eyes moved over the woman. "You summoned her."  
"Is this her?" the blonde woman said, her crystal-blue eyes flitting to Regina. "Is this your daughter?"  
"Yes," Cora said, pride curling her words. "This is Regina."  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Regina said, dipping to a curtsy, the way Cora had taught her to greet any of her superiors; but this unknown woman was a _Queen_, certainly not from this land, and Regina felt her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. _Should_ she know who this was? Cora had never mentioned her before.  
The woman smiled gently. There was a subtle warmth to her cheeks, and her body did not reflect the steel that Cora's did. Instead she reached out in what appeared to be an invitation to a handshake. Unsurprisingly, she was cool to the touch.  
"It's so good to finally meet you, Regina," the woman said. "Your Mother and I are near and dear friends; I've heard so much about you."  
Cora nodded, her gaze straying with approval to their linked hands, before settling back on Regina. "Ingrid is the Queen of Arendelle," she said.  
"Your Majesty," Regina said, but Ingrid held up a hand.  
"I also hear you will be Queen too," Ingrid said. She tilted her jaw lovingly. "And what a fine Queen you will make. You have magic. They don't understand us, do they, sweetie?"  
"I do?" Regina said, turning to Cora with confusion.  
Cora smiled and nodded. "Yes, Regina. You summoned her all on your own. The mirror was... merely a door that you opened."  
"Rumpelstiltskin taught her well," Ingrid said. "Shall we begin, Cora?"  
Regina froze. Somewhere in the cold, her heart hammered with worry. "H-how-?"  
"Oh Regina," Cora said, huffing with hurt. "You really do think me ignorant; did you not think I'd notice that my diary had vanished? I write in it religiously, but you would already know that, as well as the fact that _he_ is also a good friend of mine. I hope you are prepared for my lesson."  
"Lesson?" Regina inquired weakly, and this time Ingrid answered her.  
"Don't fret," the Queen of Arendelle murmured. She moved closer to Regina, and traced her shoulders gently with the tips of her fingers before pulling her into a hug. She smelled like the vanilla candles Cora kept in the powder room.  
Regina didn't know what to do, except to lean forward and accept the embrace which was surprisingly warm and somewhat assuring. Soon her arms were sliding around Ingrid as she rested her mouth in the high collar. Beyond Ingrid's shoulder, Cora smiled back at them. _Knowingly.  
_"You are a very beautiful girl," Ingrid whispered into Regina's hair. "It would be my honour to mentor you."  
"Regina," Cora said, joining them at the side. Her hand lingered on Regina's hip, massaging small circles through her gown. "The Dark One may be powerful, but there is one thing that he is not and that he cannot teach, and that is to be a /lady/. Who better to teach you than the Queen of Arendelle herself? I assumed you would be at least appreciative of her presence."  
Regina's heart skipped the beat it did whenever she felt like she was disappointing someone. It hurt, and the dark magician promised that he would show her how to numb it. "I am," Regina said, unraveling her arms to free Ingrid, but Ingrid held on, her hands sliding firmly over Regina's back and down her waist. Regina stiffened against her, wrapping her arms back awkwardly around Ingrid but there was an undeniable warmth spreading in her chest; one that she knew only when she was 'close' to her mother.  
"Show me," Cora said, taking a seat in the armchair. Regal even in wait, she crossed one leg over the other and gathered her hands atop her knee. "Just like we practiced, dear."  
Regina looked to her mother with an urgent panic, but Ingrid reached up and turned her jaw back. She held Regina's chin, stroking her cheek lovingly as she peered carefully into her eyes. There was a soft reassurance that Regina couldn't explain, even when Ingrid's other hand roamed Regina's lower back, peeling away slowly the ribbon that held her dress closed.  
"I promise I won't hurt you," the Snow Queen whispered as their lips finally met.


End file.
